Co-Operative Farms Increase Lone Worker Safety With Argyll

Argyll Lone Worker Solutions today announced it has secured a two-year contract with Co-operative Farms.

The contract win comes on the back of the latest HSE figures which show there were almost 1,000 incidents where lone workers in the agricultural sector suffered fatal or major injuries in 2010/11.

The Dunoon-based security specialists will provide Co-operative Farms with 80 MobiCare devices. The BS8484 certified security solution will be distributed among the company’s employees who spend much of their working day in remote conditions.

MobiCare converts a user’s existing mobile phone into a comprehensive Lone Worker risk management tool. There is an integrated panic button installed in the MobiCare solution to raise the signal to Argyll’s independent Alarm Receiving Centre (ARC) if required. The ARC monitors every alert that comes through and is able to distinguish any false alarms before alerting the relevant authorities or emergency services.

MobiCare also features an application which allows the user to confirm the start and end of their working day/shift, and ‘flag’ situations where temporary higher risk activities will be carried out.

Should workers find themselves in a situation where they require help, MobiCare can use a source of electronic location monitoring in order to find the user.

The contract was secured following an intensive trial of Argyll’s products, undertaken by The Co-operative Farms last year.

A spokesperson for Co-operative Farms said he believed the solutions were excellent in meeting the company’s lone worker needs.

He added: “During the trial all of our users had a positive experience using the MobiCare solution. I definitely feel that all of our lone workers here will benefit from the on-going use of the service.

“The members of staff who trialled the security solution felt it was a positive contribution to managing risk at work, and they all said having the device in place gave them peace of mind when entering potentially unsafe situations.”

All incident management will be tailored to meet the needs of Co-operative Farms and its workers, based on their Lone Working risk assessment.

Tom Morton, Founder and CEO of Argyll, said he was delighted that Co-operative Farms had chosen Argyll as its lone worker security solutions provider.

He said: “I’m extremely happy to have Co-operative Farms on board as it is very important we ensure that a high standard of safety solutions are made available to all lone workers across the board.

“Co-operative Farms workers often find themselves in remote areas where it would be difficult for them to call for assistance if it was required. With a security solution in place, they now have peace of mind that help is just a press of a button away.”

Founded in 1998, Argyll is a BS8484 certified lone worker solutions provider and is accredited to ISO9001:2008 by UKAS. The company monitors almost 30,000 vulnerable persons across the UK and works closely with the Association of Chief Police Officers of England, Wales and Northern Ireland (ACPO), the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland (ACPOS) and the British Security Industry Association (BSIA) to develop and improve standards within the lone worker solutions industry.